POSTHUMOUS NAVY CROSS OK’D

After yelling at the others to “get down!” Abbate may have put his own head up too soon so he could spot enemy fighters fleeing the impact area, according to investigations presented to the family in December and Marines who were present.

Abbate’s stepfather, Jim Binion, said he considers the incident a tragic accident, and one probably befitting of his son’s brave, impatient nature.

Sgt. James Finney, 25, served with Abbate in Sangin. When he heard of his friend’s death, he had the same reaction as many Marines in the battalion: “How do we win this war without him?”

Abbate was revered as the ultimate Marine: physically unstoppable, relentless, courageous and caring of his brothers-in-arms. He was a born fighter with a magnetic personality and movie-star looks.

His voice-mail message said: “Sorry I can’t come to the phone right now, but I’m on adventures. With guns.”

“He was something else,” Finney said. “Some guys, they have the heart, but they don’t have the ability. Or they have the ability but not the heart. He was the whole package. And he was humble about it.”

Jordan Laird, a Marine veteran who was beside him the day he died, said: “The guy had everything going for him. He was strong. He was a good-looking dude. But his sense of duty to his country and to his brothers trumped everything. He was completely selfless when it came down to it.”

Abbate wasn’t in it for the medals, said Laird, 25, speaking by phone from Afghanistan where he works as a security contractor. “He was just a warrior and a patriot. It didn’t matter if he never got an award. … He was always going to go out and do his best and be completely fearless on the battlefield at all times.”

Sgt. Chris Woidt, 25, served with Abbate in Iraq. The Navy Cross: “It’s fitting. He was trained by the legacy of these Marines that took Baghdad, that took Fallujah, that were in the epic battles of Iraq. And then he goes to Afghanistan, and he is in the epic battle of Afghanistan.”

Abbate’s mother, Karen Binion, said her son did not speak much of his combat tours. It wasn’t until after he died that she learned how respected he was by his peers.

“I’m incredibly proud of him. I don’t know if proud is the word. But I am so impressed to know who he was,” she said.

“I think anyone can shoot someone, or many people can. I don’t think that requires any incredible courage or sense of self. That can be an incredibly cruel thing. But Matt saved more people than I think he killed. He made things safer for people that were there,” she said.

Abbate, who is survived by his 4-year-old son, Carson, was known by family and friends as a “wild child.” As a Marine, he was meritoriously promoted several times and punished several times for brawling and other indiscretions.

“He was the worst teenager I have ever known, and he was the best man I’ve ever known,” his stepfather said. His parents tried to talk him out of re-enlisting, but Abbate’s attitude was “if I die, I die.”

Being a Marine, “that’s the only thing I’ve ever been good at,” he said.